Melbourne Victory’s W-League roster has been strengthened by three more signings.
Melbourne Victory’s W-League roster has been strengthened by the signings of Lia Privitelli, Tiffany Eliadis and Whitney Knight.
Privitelli, the 23-year-old midfielder, returns for her second season at Victory after making 11 appearances in 2016/2017.
“Lia’s probably the quickest player we’ve got,” W-League head coach Jeff Hopkins revealed.
“She can play either on the right side going past players, or on the left and cutting inside.
“She’s looking in really good form so hopefully she can build, go places and be a really influential player for us.”
Eliadis, a 22-year-old midfielder, returns to Victory for the first time since 2014/2015. In her first three-season stint, she made 14 appearances and was part of the title winning team in 2013/2014.
“She had a very good season for South Melbourne this year in the NPL,” Hopkins said.
“She came in with us last pre-season, but she had an injury that meant she needed to rest for two or three months which ruled her out.
“She’s going to add a lot to us this year. She likes to go forward and be an attacking player but she also has some really good defensive qualities which she’s embraced a bit.”
Knight, an 18-year-old striker, spent last season away from the game recovering from a knee injury.
She was part of the Victory squad in 2015/2016 when she made nine appearances and scored in the Melbourne Derby.
“She came in with us through the season last year and we helped with her rehab,” Hopkins said.
“She’s fully fit now and she had a great NPL season this year for Galaxy so she’s looking good.
“She can play in any of the forward positions, wide or central and use her pace and finishing ability.”
Victory’s W-League campaign begins on Saturday, October 28 against Canberra United at Epping Stadium.
Current Melbourne Victory W-League roster
Laura Alleway, Melina Ayres, Mindy Barbieri, Angela Beard, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Casey Dumont (GK), Natasha Dowie, Tiffany Eliadis, Christina Gibbons, Alexandra Gummer, Gulcan Koca, Whitney Knight, Annabel Martin, Bethany Mason-Jones (GK), Lia Privitelli, Laura Spiranovic